Posture pillow



June 14, 1960 H. M. BOOS 2,940,088

POSTURE PILLOW Filed Feb. 6, 1959 INVENTOR.

HOWARD M 8005 www fi 4 TTORNEKS United States Patent POSTURE PILLOW I Howard M. Boos, 9014-3 Barnes Bldg., Muskogee, Okla. Filed Feb. 6, 1959, Ser. No. 791,721

2 Claims, 01. -333 This invention relates to pillows having therapeutic value and, in particular, to pillows having a configuration adapted to receive the contours of the users head.

Prior art pillows have been made from both soft material of high resiliency, and from firm material of little resiliency. When lying on ones back while using a'pillow made of a firm material, the occiput region is held high causing the chin to be forced toward the chest. This position is uncomfortable and unhealthy for it places the muscles of the neck and upper back in a strained position. When using prior art pillows which are made of a soft material, the occipital crest is lowered and the chin goes up, causing most of the weight of the cervical region being placed on the crown of the users head, and on the upper shoulder area. This also puts a users body under strain because of the gap or bridging of the cervical area. It can be seen that by using prior art pillows of a soft or firm material, there is a strained condition produced in the cervical area which produces muscular fatigue.

One object of this invention is to allow the user, when lying on his back, to be in a position which affords maximum relaxation. The pillow, due to its unique configurations, permits the cervical region of the spine to be in its most relaxed position by maintaining the head and the neck in substantially the same plane.

Another object of this invention is the provision of keeping the head and neck in approximately the same plane as the spinal column when the user is sleeping on his side. This is accomplished through the unique configurations and through the use of a material sufliciently firm to prevent a users head from dropping to the vicinity of his shoulder.

A still further object of this invention is providing a pillow having the above-mentioned advantages and yet having an exterior design which is not materially different from conventional pillows on the market.

These and other objectives of the invention will be readily understood by referring to the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the pillow;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation view;

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line 3-3 of Fig. l; and,

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view along the line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a side view; and

Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view along the line 6-6 of Fig. 1 and,

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 with a top cover attached.

There has been known in the past, pillows having configurations designed to obtain some therapeutic value. However, all of these prior art devices had certain drawbacks which have been overcome by this invention. The pillow of this invention can readily be modified to appear as a conventional-looking pillow and can be used with standard bedding, pillow covers, etc. found in any departresting periods it is best for the body to be in its most relaxed position. This has been found to be that position in which the head is in approximately the same position as that in which we sit or stand. The .pillow of this invention permits the accomplishment of this positioning while lying in bed with a minimum of structural changes from standard pillow structures. The pillow of this invention cradles the head and neck allowing the greatest amount of relaxation.

Referring to the drawings, the pillow generally is designated by the numeral 10. The pillow may be manufactored of any resilient material, but a rather firm foam rubber is preferred. The pillow has formed on what can be termed its top surface 12, a head and neck receiving portion 16 which is comprised of the comparatively deep cavity section 18 and the relatively shallow neck receiving channel 20. The size of the cavity and channel may be molded of different dimensions suitable for different sizes of heads and necks.

It can be seen from Fig. 6 that the base of the users head will lie in the deepest portion of cavity 18 while the back of the neck is given support by the relatively higher neck-receiving channel 20.

Spaced on either side of the head cavity 18 are the somewhat shallow cheek receiving concavities 22 and 24. If the user turns to sleep on his side, the concavities 22 and 24 are adapted to receive his cheek. For this reason they are somewhat more shallow than the concavity 18, because the pillow will necessarily be required to support the head of the user in a higher plane, due to the action of the users shoulder raising the neck and head. The concavities 22 and 24 are in communication with the head-receiving cavity 18 and the neck-receiving channel 20 and extend to edges of the pillow.

In order that pillows of this type may have the design normally associated with conventional pillows, the concavities 18, 22 and 24 may be filled with a filler material 26 having very little body or resilience. This material is then held in place by covering the entire top surface of the body section 12 by a thin layer of foam rubber 14 or the like, shown in Fig. 7. This layer 14 is preferably the same as that of the body section.

The filler material 26 and top 14 offer very little resistance to the Weight of the users head, and neck and permit the pillow to perform its therapeutic mission, in a manner identical to that described above.

In a general manner, while I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to be practical and eflicient embodiments of my invention, it should be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto, as there might be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of the parts without departing from the principle of the present invention as comprehended within the scope of the accompanying claims.

I claim:

1. A substantially rectangular-shaped therapeutic pillow made of a resilient material, comprising a main body section having a substantially smooth bottom surface and an irregular top surface, said top surface having a sion and extending to the nearest longitudinal edge, said.

channel sloping downwardly from said depression to said nea e q i siine ed e rs 2 5 sealed deale sceiving channel of a second depth intersecting said depression, said first channel, also intersecting one lateral edgerof ai p l o a sa i cendc ann 41 nte secting the other lateral edge of said p ll w, ,Sflidsecqnd dep be n sub ant a ly es sa d fi t-depth; a

: les h n h dep h f a d'e e v e v hanne a an point th o hout i s s p r by w en a u e sa in on his back, the depression will receive the base of his head and the neckereceiving 911 4 191 will give support 10 to fthehackofhis neck, and when said user turns on his side, one of said cheek-receiving channels will receive his "cheek. r

2. The therapeutic pillow described in claim 1 wherein a readily compressible rnaterial iil ls said ,cavity, said neck-receiving channel, and saidqhe'ekwreceiying channels, n r la t i e r s c o the sam m te ia as said pillow and being ,cq-'extensive with said top surface is secured to the periphery of said pillow whereby said readily compressible 'material is retained in said cavity.

References Cited in the file of this patent V UNITED STATES PATENTS 

